Anyone else flying one of these ?
I am so ramped up with the new SE5a , now I am thinking about the Nieuport
Collect them all trade and them with your friends , like in a ad a long time ago for some toy .

I finally did the maiden flight of the Nieuport 17 ,
What a beautiful flying biplane , took off from the pavement , lots of power , and it needed no trim adjustments . Half throttle or just under , it flys perfectly . And it loops really well , a real smile maker to fly , and a perfect landing was easy , and taxi back to me , properly .
I am enjoying these Flyzone Biplanes a LOT , and they seem to get better with each one .
Thank You Flyzone for the enjoyment

Hello, I am a newby. I purchased a Flyzone Nieuport as my first RC trainer... I have had a lot of crashes and torn that aircraft apart, almost. I have not bought any of the replacement parts except the props.

As a beginner, although I have seen the YouTube demos and read your comments, this was probably not the best model to try to learn on. My other problem is I have been trying to fly in too high wind. The model is about 1/20 scale so I figure flying it in 5 mph wind is about like a real pilot trying to fly the real thing in a 100 mph gale.

My ultimate goal was to get good at flying it and get into motorizing Guillow WW-1 and Dumas models, but I am such a bad pilot I think now I may never get to the point that even trying to fly a stick-and-tissue would make sense.

Night before last I replaced my glued together prop with a new one and got two short flights out of it before I destroyed the new prop.

I have learned that silicon sealer is great for reinforcing ACC repairs. Really helps hold struts and LG on. I now have Du Bro hinges on the rudder and horiz. Stab.

In summary I have had some good flights and even some three point landings, it is not all bad news, but I wish in retrospect that I had NOT followed my scale modeler instincts. I should have gotten the little cub with all the dihedral.

I would suggest the Hobbyzone Champ. You really cant go wrong using this model to get flight time. Its not a Fighter RC like we all want to start out with, I know that feeling. But the champ is really what you need to start with. I have flown Dumas models before and they fly alot like the champ with the right motor set up. You can jump right in to a WW1 plane and will see the same flight charactoristics. I have taught several new RC pilots to fly using the Champ and they all loved it. And all of them still have thier Champs to this day sitting next to the SE5's, N17's etc. Welcome to WF and the great world of WW1 crazies!!

Thanks. That airplane is a bit larger than their micro cub. The Nieuport has been patched so much it is really barely capable of flight and it probably ought to be rebuilt or junked. I had it out over noon and it was not pretty.

What was frustrating for me is this guy on YouTube who hand launched his Nieuport and it flies hands-Off! First flight mine was out of control almost immediately but then, with a novice..???

Just as TM4197 said , the Hobbyzone MICRO Champ is "the Best " flyer .
I do not fly my micros in any wind , and they can be really impressive flyers in zero wind conditions , and my Nieuport required no trim what so ever , it flys great .
Maybe you should consider the Hobbyzone Champ , and then you will soon be flying biplanes and having a great time yourself .

The last few times I have had my Nieuport out I have not been able to climb out and get above about 5 feet altitude. I had begun thinking there is so much epoxy, ACC, and silicone filler due to repairs, the plane is too heavy to fly! I was using the battery that came with the model which has become slightly swollen. Fortunately the local USA Hobbies had a replacement, no Velcro so I needed a little strip of duct tape to hold it. When fully charged, performance was again satisfactory. You experienced guys probably laugh but I being a beginner had to lean the importance of a good FULLY CHARGED battery. I was being a silly boy last night flying in the front yard in the twilight and everything was pretty good until... I only knocked one V strut off, cut a turn too close to a neighbor's tree in the gloom.

My flying buddy has his old HZ Super Cub still , it actually has so much tape on it from so many crashes , that even with a fully charged battery , it will hardly climb out from take off because of its weight from all of the tape , it sure takes a while to climb to any height

The plane flew well this evening, cruised nicely at about 80 feet. The new battery really helped. Had a bad landing tho and took out prop # 3. All of them are now repaired so that. May kill performance until I get a few more.

I toted up the spares needed to fully rebuild it to new, the only good part left is the fuselage... Could just about buy a new one for the parts cost. It could then be a radio and powerplant donor for a stick and tissue...

This evening, Easter, I flew the Nieuport for the family first flight, 3 point landing, second flight and it augered in. After many crashes and repairs it has had a tendency to stall in turns more than it should. Anyway, on examination the drive shaft was loose and the gears no longer meshed. After taking off the prop and cowling I was able to put the drive shaft bearing back into the motor. I powered it up and it ran for maybe 5 seconds. There was a flash of light and a pop and smoke started billowing out of the fuselage. I assume the receiver exploded! Anyway my guess a the whole ship is a write off - Motor and radio non salvageable, I would say.

Its sad that you have had your problems with the Nieuport .
And all the great flying I have experienced so much of , like last night with no wind and fun flights till it was too dark to see the plane .
Maybe your next one will be a lot better flyer for you .

I certainly enjoyed the model and I think I did learn a lot about flying. There is no doubt I flew it in conditions that were too windy and it was not a good choice for a trainer. I might buy another since I already have the transmitter.

Waiting to hear from Tower they may help me out since the guts basically blew up. Wish I had a video of THAT...

I was able to put the drive shaft bearing back into the motor. I powered it up and it ran for maybe 5 seconds. There was a flash of light and a pop and smoke started billowing out of the fuselage.

Almost certainly the failure was due to the crash damage. A tight bearing or a bent and binding shaft will cause the current drawn by the motor to go through the roof and burn up the motor and/or speed controller.

Good luck with trying to get Tower to cover it under warranty, but if it were me I'd not hold my breath.

IMHO any micro is not really the best tool to learn on, especially so a micro biplane. They are too much effected by wind and have short duration which both add up to limit your flying time. Also the electronics cant be transferred into your next model when it comes time to upgrade meaning more expense in the long run. Parkflyer size is a better bet if you ask me.

I'm not knocking micros at all, I have some and they are a lot of fun, just not great to learn on.

I finally got Tower's support/warranty people, Hobbyco, which seems to be a part of Great Planes, on the phone. The guy said that the explosion of the receiver was unusual but not unexpected after a "hard landing" as I described it.
He asked me how many flights it had and I told him 30-40 and he said they could only do something if I had only gotten 3-4 flights out if it. Sooo I guess I have to buy something else. I might go with the SE-5 with its more generous wing area and rudder somewhat protected by a fin.

The rudder out in the open with that little hinge on the Nieuport is just really fragile. Cartwheels... No good! (I am rough on them...)

How is the best way to access the innards of this plane? Mine is totaly new, but I would like to tweak the location of the motor mount, since the prop shaft is way off the center of the opening in the dummy motor, and actually rubs the edge!

Also, I'll need to get to the motor and gear drive to lube things or replace a component. I don't want to butcher the fuselage by separating the clamshells if the joining is anything like my Flyzone Albatros. This model had the two fuselage parts GLUED together. This stuff totally FOULED ny razor blade by caking up and tearing the foam when I tried to open the fuselage!

Also flipping the prop over gives a sound like a coffee grinder , and at two points, there is a noticeable "hard place" where the shaft takes more effort to turn. Is this the nature of the beast?

I read that someone had removed the cowl for access, but did not state what he was able to reach.
What's the best approach?

These Flyzone planes were not really designed to get into. They can be cobbled on but it requires pulling or cutting things apart. As a poor pilot I started out on the N-17 and pretty soon knocked the engine loose... I mean the real one. I took the dummy motor off ( actually I shattered it) and would carefully apply epoxy to stabilize the motor... Btw a lot of care was exercised... A smudge of epoxy on the gears and it is all over.

I am on my third Flyzone micro, an SE-5 and I am am always auguring in or crashing into a concrete curb and on the SE 5 I cut a semi removal access panel in the top of the cowling. Much facilitates placing that epoxy.

Be aware the motor is installed with down thrust and a bit of an angle to the right - ON PURPOSE. Don't "straighten" the motor! If you want to cobble on anything cobble on the dummy motor. The cowling on the N-17 will come off pretty well after you get the prop off. As far as reversing the prop....

Hard spots when propping over the engine by hand are manufacturing glitches or crash damage burs on the nylon reduction gear.

Lubrication is ok, I would apply it with a toothpick... They run pretty well without it for a while, but eventually need help. You might just discard the dummy motor. I did after a few crashes.